Taking charge of your Software Update Server

Let's face it: not every software update released by Apple is perfect and problem-free. In fact, there always seems to be at least one or two people lamenting on MacFixit about how the most recent update to iPhoto or a security fix for three obscure system components managed to somehow erase his hard drive, overflow the dishwasher, and send incriminating e-mails to his employer. Now, if you happen to be part of an organization that leverages the Software Update Server component of Mac OS X Server, you may not really have a choice as to what updates you can and can't install. Too bad if the update in question happens to be one of the deadly ones.

Or, maybe not. Our good friend and Ars reader Nigel Kersten (best known to longtime Macintoshian Achaia residents as dhaveconfig) has come up with a simple method of splitting the software update tree into a stable and unstable grouping. The idea behind the split is that some client machines will receive all updates, while others can be set to only receive updates you deem appropriately tested on your network. Okay, maybe we don't have a whole lot of OS X Server admins reading Infinite Loop, but it's still a useful look at customizing Apple's defaults to improve on existing functionality. Maybe this will become an option for 10.5 Server?